I chuckled, shaking my head at my own stupidity once upon a time. “He did.”
“We’ve all done some sort of stupid for a man at one point in our lives,” Patience stated. Again, we all laughed, recognizing the truth of her words.
“Hell, I married my first stupid.” Destiny shuddered.
“It’s okay. Tyler was only what? Twelve when you married your first husband, so he was much too young for you at the time,” Kayla joked, referring to the nine year age difference between Destiny and Tyler.
Destiny swatted Kayla’s hand away, laughing.
“We’ll save the rest of the story for another day. We’ve got to finish this work day up by five or your father-in-law will be down here demanding I close up shop for the day.” I rolled my eyes thinking about my husband. I’d said it jokingly but it was the truth. My husband was stingy with my time, always had been, and after forty years of marriage, I recognized he always would be.
“Heck, all five of them would be down here,” Patience stated. “Especially Aaron, as if he doesn’t work crazy hours.”
I giggled. “He works hard so that you won’t have to.”
“I know it,” Patience responded before covering her mouth as she yawned.
“See?” I nodded. “Being a mother of four is tiring enough.”
She gave me a smile. “Excuse me, I need to use the restroom.”
Rising, I watched her exit, heading toward the bathroom down the hall. I turned to see Michelle also watching Patience as she left. I didn’t say anything, simply smiled and turned back to Destiny who was asking a question about the budget of our shelter.
Chapter Ten
Patience
“Oh man,” I groaned while covering my face again with my hand to smother my yawn. I was exhausted, as was typical for this particular stage in my pregnancy.
Just thinking about my pregnancy had me biting my lower lip. I still hadn’t told Aaron yet, because I was not looking forward to his reaction. The fact that he’d had a business trip earlier in the week had made it a little easier to hide my exhaustion from him. But not much. We FaceTimed throughout the day, and he’d asked on multiple occasions if I wasn’t feeling well. For once, it actually irritated me that he could not only run a multi-billion dollar corporation, and be the best father to our four children, but also be an extremely attentive and overprotective husband. Those were all traits I usually adored in him but not when I was holding in a secret.
Sighing, I stood from the bed and stretched, the cool material of the silk, magenta negligee I wore sliding over my sensitized nipples. I glanced down, realizing they were actually protruding through the thin material. Thoughts of my husband always elicited this type of reaction in my body. Probably why I was in my current predicament. But after missing him in our bed for two whole nights, I wasn’t in a mood to ruin anything by telling him the news. That could wait for later. Right then, I needed him.
I smiled as soon as the door pushed open.
Our eyes connected. His ever present scowl had subsided to what appeared as a neutral expression to the outsider, but his eyes always told more of the story. His hazel pupils dilated and his chest fell and rose just slightly faster. His gaze dropped to my breasts, and I saw the moment he noticed my nipples. He hadn’t even touched me—he was still on the far side of our bedroom and I already begun experiencing a pooling in the silk matching panties I wore.
“Kyle fall asleep?” I questioned, trying to sound casual.
Slowly, with the deliberate stalking speed of jaguar, he padded silently across the plush carpet of our bedroom. “Yes.”
I swallowed. “Did he read to you tonight or you to him?” I questioned, pulling at the blanket that covered the bed.
My breath hitched when his hands clasped around my waist, tugging me backward so my body hit his chest.
“Both,” he stated low, next to my ear before licking it.
I sighed and moaned, leaning back against his strength. “I missed you,” I told him as my eyes floated closed while he continued to lick and bite at the column of my neck.
His left hand moved around the back of my waist, reaching underneath the negligee. “Why the fuck are you wearing underwear?” He growled, simultaneously pulling at the panties from behind, until his fingers reached my core.
I moaned.
Aaron reached up, taking a fistful of my locks into his hand and pulling them so my face turned upright to meet his.
“Answer me.”
“I was checking on the babies.” Andreas and Thiers, our two youngest sons, had been put down an hour prior to Kyle and Kennedy.
